Saturday, June 26, 2010

Religious sites of Nepal

There are lot of religious sites outside Kathmandu. Some of the famous sites are as follow
Lumbini: Lumbini is the birthplace of Lord Buddha, the apostle of peace, compassion and non-violence. It is situated in the Kapilvastu District in the Lumbini Zone western Terai of Nepal, 250 kilometers southwest of Kathmandu. The broken Ashoken pillar, remnants of an old monastery, and image of Buddha's mother Maya Devi are in Lumbini. It is accessible by air from Kathmandu to Bhairahawa from where one can proceed by car or by other means of transport.
Muktinath: Muktinath is an important place of pilgrimage for Hindus. The famous temple of Lord Muktinath lies in the district of Mustang. This temple is situated on a high mountain range and is visited during the fair weather. During the Janai Purnima and Ram Navami festivals devotees gather there to pay homage to lord Muktinath. Muktinath is situated about 18 km northeast of Jomsom at an altitude of 3,749 meters. There are two ways to get to Muktinath from Kathmandu. The first way is to take a direct flight from Kathmandu to Jomsom and hike for a couple of hours via Kagbeni. The next way to trek all the way from Pokhara which takes about 13 to 15 hours.
Janakpur: This is a great religious place famous as the birthplace of Sita, the consort of Lord Rama and the heroine of a great Hindu epic, the Ramayan. There is an artistic marble of temple of Sita popularly known as Naulakha Mandir which means "built at the cost of Rs 900,00". Religious festivals, pilgrimages, trade fairs and other festivities are held here on Bivaha Panchami and Ram Navami days.
Barahachhetra: A few kilometers from the main city of Biratnagar, on the bank of the Koshi River, lies a holy place of Hindu pilgrimage called Barahachhetra. It is the temple of lord Baraha, the boar incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Historians have traced the existence of this image to the twelfth century.

Gosainkunda: One of the most famous religious places of pilgrimage in Nepal is Gosainkunda. The best approach to Gosainkunda is through Dhunche 132 kilometers northeast of Kathmandu. The religious lake is situated at an altitude of about 4360 meters. Dhunche is linked with Kathmandu by a motorable road surrounded by the high mountain on the north and the south, by higher landscape on the east and west, this kunda(Lake) is grand and picturesque. On the east and west of kunda, there are 9 other famous lakes including the Saraswati Kunda, Bhairav Kunda, Sourya Kunda and Ganesh Kunda.

No comments:

Post a Comment